Fund for Women and Girls (Domestic Grant Round) is sponsored by Jewish Community Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. This fund promotes social change and an equitable world where all women and girls can thrive, supporting efforts to address immediate obstacles and systemic challenges, domestically and in Israel.

Fund for Women and Girls - Jewish Community Foundation About The Fund for Women And Girls In June 2023, the Jewish Community Foundation launched the Fund for Women and Girls leveraging the incredible assets and work of the Tikkun Olam Women’s Fund. The Fund is designed to promote social change, and to help shape an equitable world in which all women and girls can thrive.

The Fund supports efforts to address immediate obstacles and systemic challenges holding women and girls back from reaching their full potential, domestically and in Israel. The Fund engages community members in collective learning and giving to deepen our understanding and connection to the most vulnerable in our community and amplify the impact of our Jewish community.

The steering committee of the Fund for Women and Girls is currently growing the endowment of the fund for upcoming grantmaking windows to continue resourcing the needs of women and girls in Israel, and begin supporting a local domestic issue area in alignment with their goals.

LEARN: To learn how to best identify and respond to community needs in ways that increase the dignity and agency of all stakeholders ( cheshbon nefesh, derekh eretz ). LEARN: To learn how to measure and evaluate the impact of the Fund’s grantmaking efforts in service of achieving its mission, and communicate movement to our broader community ( shituf p’ulah ).

RESOURCE: To provide capital in support of issue areas where women in the Jewish community and Greater Washington community are experiencing outsized inequities due to the systems and policies in place ( tzedakah ). ENGAGE: To empower committee members, community members and fund participants to become more effective leaders for change in their community ( tikkun olam, avodah ).

The Jewish Community Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington has launched the first domestic grant round of its Fund for Women and Girls, awarding $100,000 to advance the health, safety, and economic security of women and girls across Greater Washington. Building on prior international investments, this new local focus targets urgent disparities and expands opportunity for women and girls at critical stages of life.

The Fund for Women and Girls Awards First Round of Domestic Grants Continuing To Learn and Evolve Explore the work of our grantee partners and keep up with the latest from the Fund.

Returning to the Source: How a DC Native Sparked a Global Movement for Jewish Women’s Well‑Being The Fund for Women and Girls Enters a New Era Press Release: Fund for Women and Girls Grants Announced June 2025 Read: On the Ground in Israel: The Fund for Women and Girls in Action Read: The Worst Part is Nobody Believes Us Learn: About Our Participation in the Jewish Women’s Collective Response Fund Get to Know: Itach-Ma'aki Since the October 7 terror attacks, women in Israel have been navigating layers of distinct and overwhelming challenges, including severe trauma and loss, single parenthood (often the result of a partner leaving for war), enormous caretaking demands, internal displacement, and more.

And yet, as is often the case during times of conflict, support tailored uniquely to women and girls is falling by the wayside.

Through their programs and advocacy work, the Fund for Women and Girls’ partners are responding to the ongoing crisis in Israel, building awareness around conflict-related sexual violence, defending women’s rights, and developing the next generation of women leading communities at the local, regional, and national level.

The goal of the Fund for Women and Girls is to ensure that our partners have the resources and tools to shape their lives and communities. In response, the Fund for Women and Girls has made three rounds of grants totaling nearly $300,000 to support women and girls impacted by the Israel-Hamas war.

EMPOWERMENT AND LEADERSHIP | MAY 2025 GRANTS Leadership and Policy Change Bonot Alternativa | $25,000 Bonot Alternativa is a grassroots, nonpartisan movement working to protect women’s rights and Israel’s democracy and secure equal representation for women in every arena of Israeli society. This general operating grant supports Bonot’s development of women-driven leadership models as they work towards a fully egalitarian Israel.

Itach Ma’aki | $25,000 Itaach Ma’aki , known as Women Lawyers for Social Justice, empowers women subjected to social, geographic, national, ethnic, and economic discrimination in Israeli society. Itach Ma’aki provides free legal aid and representation for women in need, promotes discourse about gender within Israel’s diverse communities, promotes female leadership, and advocates for important legal and legislative policies.

This general operating grant supports Itach Ma’aki’s work to ensure that women have a seat at local decision-making tables. WePower | $25,000 WePower promotes women’s leadership within all tiers of Israel society, increases awareness of gender inequality, and brings about social change to advance a more equitable civic society. We Power, which consults the U.

N. on women’s leadership, recognizes that women in positions of power promote more balanced decision-making processes and allocate resources in a more equitable manner that better address women’s needs and concerns. This general operating grant will support We Power’s work to ensure that women have decision making power in Israel’s future.

Women-Centered Trauma and Therapy Services Israel is in a mental health crisis and rates of intimate partner violence spike when a country is at war, making the work of the following centers that much more urgent. Counseling Center for Women | $20,000 Counseling Center for Women (CCW) is a therapy center run by women for women.

It has a staff of 25 clinical social workers, clinical psychologists, and psychiatrists that treats more than 300 women each week according to women’s unique emotional and psychological needs. CCW is currently training other agencies in feminist therapy, contributing to Israel’s ability to cope with nationwide trauma.

This general operating grant builds on our initial grant of $15,000 to expand their work and serve the growing number of women and girls seeking services.

Tahel Crisis Center | $20,000 Tahel Crisis Center helps victims of abuse and their families overcome crisis; prevents further abuse by providing educational training; increases the awareness of abuse and domestic violence within the religious community; develops and implements “safety” programs and protocols for communities and institutions; and lowers the incidence of PTSD by providing post-trauma workshops.

This general operating grant provides critical funds so that Tahel can care for an increasing number of women and girls who are seeking services to due the impact of the war and often unable to seek services through broader organizations.

Building Women’s Power and Influence The gender gap when it comes to positions of political power in Israel is at an all-time high ( Van Leer Jerusalem Institute puts it at 61% ), which means women are not receiving adequate representation when they need it most. Known as Women Lawyers for Social Justice, Itach Ma’aki empowers women subjected to social, geographic, national, ethnic, and economic discrimination in Israeli society.

Itach Ma’aki provides free legal aid and representation for women in need, promotes discourse about gender within Israel’s diverse communities, promotes female leadership, and advocates for important legal and legislative policies. This general operating grant supports Itach Ma’aki’s work to ensure that women have a seat at local decision-making tables.

We Power promotes women’s leadership within all tiers of Israel society, increases awareness of gender inequality, and brings about social change to advance a more equitable civic society. We Power, which consults the U. N.

on women’s leadership, recognizes that women in positions of power promote more balanced decision-making processes and allocate resources in a more equitable manner that better address women’s needs and concerns. This general operating grant will support We Power’s work to ensure that women have decision making power in Israel’s future.

INAUGURAL GRANTS | DECEMBER 2023 Women-Centered Crisis Response and Relocation Services Bonot Alternativa | $25,000 Funding will provide support for emergency operations and centers, which is leveraging over 100,000 volunteers and deploy Bonot Alternativa’s team to provide treatments (e.g., psychologists, speech therapists, physical therapists, etc.) to services such as laundry and babysitting, as required.

The first Bonot emergency communal center is up-and-running in Eilat where scores of families from Sderot and the surrounding kibbutzim are in hotels and empty flats. They plan to open 8 more centers.

Eden Association | $25,000 Funding will support the Eden Association’s ability to maintain psychological and trauma services for the 60 displaced young women (ages 12-18) who were evacuated from the Eden School in Kibbutz Karmiya (which is in the Gaza Envelope 3 km from the border) while simultaneously rebuilding the structures that were destroyed by missiles during the attack.

Women Centered Trauma and Therapy Services Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI) | $15,000 The October 7th attack has created trauma for survivors and victims that is resulting in huge increases in outreach and need for services. This grant would help the ARCCI and nine regional Rape Crisis Centers (RCCs), the only centers in Israel whose main aim is to combat sexual violence, meet that need.

The RCCs provide services, including hotlines, support groups, workplace education, help through the legal process, and counseling for victims of sexual violence.

Counseling Center for Women | $15,000 Funding will provide psychotherapy to community members impacted by the October 7th attack, including survivors of the music festival; citizens from the South who were able to escape the Hamas attack; evacuees; families who lost close relatives; journalists, social workers and other psychotherapists experiencing 2nd degree trauma; and others.

The Center is also helping evacuees via support groups for single mothers, English-speaking Israeli women, women volunteering in emergency relief initiatives, and women with family members in the armed forces, among others.

Social Services and Financial Support for Single Mothers Ruach-Nashit (Women’s Spirit) | $20,000 Ruach-Nashit helps victims of violence find employment and establish financial independence so that they can escape from situations of poverty and risk. Funding will support three social workers and help purchase computers for the organization’s southern branch.

Their staff in the south have been overwhelmed with an increased flow of physical and psychological requests as well as growing needs from their participants, women survivors of abuse, many of them living in the cities that were infiltrated by terrorists.

A NATIONAL EFFORT TO ACCELERATE GENDER-BASED GRANTMAKING The Fund for Women and Girls was able to amplify the impact of our community’s philanthropy by participating in a national collaborative effort. The Jewish Women’s Collective Response Fund , created by Elluminate and The Hadassah Foundation, granted a total of $125,000 to five organizations doing this important work.

This funding, coupled with the additional $200,000 granted to Israeli organizations by our generous local community, will empower Israeli non-profits to give voice to women and advance equality as Israelis reprioritize and rebuild during and after the war. You can help us build toward a better future by supporting our future grantmaking efforts.

The Fund for Women and Girls is committed to providing ongoing support to organizations in Israel and domestically that advocate for equal rights, decision- making power, and provide crisis support. We are doing this by building relationships with leaders and women on the ground who are most impacted and in the best position to highlight the opportunities for change.

We believe that all women deserve peace and safety, and a seat at the table. We ground our decision making in trust-based philanthropy practices and center relationships and impact. Help us build toward a better future by giving today.

Here are Four Ways to Give Giving goes into the general fund pool and is allocated during grantmaking windows by the grants committees to both Israel and Domestic Issues. Allocate through your Jewish Community Foundation Donor Advised Fund Allocate through a Donor Advised Fund from an Outside Financial Institution Visit our contribution page to make a donation via credit card.

Make an allocation through your Donor Advised Fund to The Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Washington indicating “Fund for Women in Girls” in the note section. ( Learn more about DAFs and open a DAF with the Jewish Community Foundation ) Send a check to The Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Washington, 6101 Executive Blvd, North Bethesda, MD 20852, with the name “Fund for Women and Girls” in the memo line.

Make an allocation through a Donors Advised Fund from an outside financial institution by recommending a grant from your DAF to The Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Washington indicating “Fund for Women and Girls” in the note section. "Women and girls are in the forefront of being there to provide what’s necessary and critical for those in need.

In the case of Israel, they are also holding the families together through war and the tragic losses as a result of war. As a family, we recognize the importance of women’s voices and actions, as well as the remarkable contributions they make to our world." - Carol and Gary Berman “Now is the moment to invest in women and girls—because when they thrive, whole communities rise.

Supporting a fund of this nature helps fuel solutions that are bold and urgently needed. Through developing long-term partnerships with organizations on the ground, we’re not just supporting solutions—we’re investing in resilience and have the opportunity to make a generational impact. ” - Jannah Yutkovitz